The St. Thomas Aquinas Men’s Golf team is heading for an 8th NCAA National Championship after finishing 2nd at the East/Atlantic NCAA Super Regional at Lake View Country Club in North East, PA. The Spartans shot rounds of 296-307-312, leaving them just 3 shots shy of winner Gannon University.

During the first round of play, the team was led by senior Sean Trapp who played solid all day, shooting 73. Junior Jake Yarmolowitz and sophomore Norman Viron both managed to fire rounds of 74 while Shkelqim Kukaj posted a round of 75. Joe Tammaro struggled on his final 9 and managed to card an 80 on day one. The team’s score of 296 was good for first place by 1 shot over Gannon University.

In second round action, difficult conditions got even worse as temperatures dipped to below 40 with rain falling for most of the day. Playing in multiple layers of clothing, Shkelqim Kukaj kept up his consistent play and shot another round of 75. Sean Trapp battled all round and managed to eagle his 17th hole to finish with a 76. Joe Tammaro was able to bounce back and card a round of 77 while Jake Yarmolowitz finished off a difficult round with a few birdies to shoot 79. Norman Viron rounded out the team scoring with a round of 80. The team’s score of 307 was good enough to keep them in first place by 2 shots over Gannon.

When the third and final round got underway, the rain blew out and the wind picked up. The Spartans battled all day with Gannon, flip-flopping on top of the leaderboard. After a difficult final 3 holes, the Spartans eventually fell by 3 shots to Gannon, shooting a final round 312. Jake Yarmolowitz and Norman Viron led the team shooting rounds of 74 and 75 respectively, while Joe Tammaro carded a round of 78. Sean Trapp and Shkelqim Kukaj struggled during the final round shooting 85 and 86 respectively. The Spartans 3-day score of 915 was good for 2nd place and earned them their 8th National Championship appearance in the past 14 seasons.

STAC now heads to the PGA National Resort course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where they will face 16 of the top teams in all of Division II on May 17 through 21.